‘Stay Tuned’: Elizabeth Warren Says Democrats Are Actively Plotting Filibuster Changes

Last updated on July 18th, 2023 at 01:23 pm

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said on Monday that Democrats in the U.S. Senate are actively discussing plans to prevent Republicans from using the filibuster to thwart Joe Biden’s popular agenda.

During an interview with MSNBC’s Joy Reid, the Massachusetts senator and former presidential candidate said Democrats are fully aware that the filibuster must be addressed if they want to get anything meaningful passed through Congress.

“We’re in Washington to fulfill our promises to the American people, to make this government work for them, not to give Mitch McConnell a veto,” Warren said. “So stay tuned.”

To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.

Video:

Sen. Warren said:

Our problem is not just a $15 an hour minimum wage. Our problem is the filibuster, because it blocks us on everything that doesn’t fit through – everyone had to learn the word last weekend – reconciliation, right? So, we really want to make changes to protect the vote, we really want to make changes on gun safety, we really want to make changes on immigration, we really want to make changes on child care, we have got to deal with the filibuster. Here’s the good news: Democrats know that. The discussions are now going on, on our side, about what we can do. Now, you know where I am and where I’ve been for a long time. We just need to pitch the thing out. It was born of racism and a way to try to keep the south happy, the southern senators, by giving them extraordinary power to be able to block any civil rights legislation or any anti-lynching legislation. And that’s what it was used for right up until the mid-1960s. And now, Mitch McConnell and the Republicans have resuscitated it with a vengeance, first to use it against President Obama and have indicated they’re going to use it against President Biden. That means it is on us to stop this. We’re in Washington to fulfill our promises to the American people, to make this government work for them, not to give Mitch McConnell a veto. So stay tuned. You know where I am in this fight. And nobody is giving up at this point.

Passing Biden’s popular agenda would boost Democrats

Sen. Warren’s comments on Monday echo what Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) said last week – that discussions about filibuster reform are heating up among Democratic lawmakers.

“It’s very much developing,” Sen. Hirono said at the time.

Of course, the wild card is whether moderate Democrats like Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) will back his party in reforming the filibuster, if and when they decide to do so.

Over 50 days into his presidency, the majority of the American people approve of the job Joe Biden is doing. Biden’s support will likely grow once folks feel the positive impacts of the $1.9 trillion rescue plan that he just signed into law.

If red state Democrats like Manchin are concerned about their political fortunes back home, it’s hard to see how it would help to put hurdles in front of a popular president’s agenda.

Follow Sean Colarossi on Facebook and Twitter

Sean Colarossi

Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.